


Wildest Dreams

by ghoulwheeze (trek_locked)



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series)
Genre: Dream AU, Falling In Love, Fluff, M/M, Shyan Exchange 2k18, Shyan Writing Events, shyan, with light angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-27
Updated: 2018-08-27
Packaged: 2019-07-03 03:49:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15810717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trek_locked/pseuds/ghoulwheeze
Summary: The first night he saw him, Ryan knew he was the one.Or, Ryan and Shane meet in their dreams, only to fall in love.





	Wildest Dreams

**Author's Note:**

  * For [UniversalSatan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/UniversalSatan/gifts).



The first night he saw him, Ryan knew he was the one.

The man was standing on a pier, just staring out at the water, back turned. When the man finally moved to face Ryan, it was as if for the first time, he could breathe. Setting sun framing his face, hair blowing in the wind, all he had to do was smile and Ryan was gone. Just as the man moved towards Ryan, beginning to open his mouth, as if he were about to speak, was when it happened.

Ryan woke up.

* * *

Steven was the only one who was weird and unskeptical enough to talk to.

“So, you’re saying, you keep seeing this guy in your dreams? What does he do? Is it, like, someone you’ve seen before?”

Scrunching his nose with a frown, Ryan shook his head.

“It’s not like that. I don’t know him. It’s as if I’m not dreaming, but I actually am? You know?”

Steven just looked confused.

Ryan sighed. It was a long shot anyways. While the food guru had an open mind, he also wasn’t one of those mind-reading friends, unless it concerned his boyfriend, Andrew.

He moved to stand up. “Never mind. I’m going to head home, okay? I’ll let you know if stuff starts making more sense.”

The two exchanged goodbyes and Ryan left. It was time to head to work, aka his home, aka where he edited his footage and videos for YouTube. Being an amateur ghosthunter wasn’t the highest paying job, but a twice-removed uncle’s death and a will that strangely left the guy’s  entire fortune to his somewhere-down-the-line nephew allowed the believer to pursue his dreams.

Maybe the man was a ghost haunting him. Maybe it’d hitched a ride back to Los Angeles and now was showing itself through Ryan’s dreams. Maybe it was a poltergeist, intent on friendly torture. Or worse, a demon trying to steal his soul.

_Or maybe I’m finally going crazy_ , he thought as he unlocked the front door to his apartment.

The dreams left him too anxious to go back to sleep at night, so Ryan was constantly tired, relying on coffee and energy drinks to keep him going.

Maybe a short nap would do the trick. The couch did look rather inviting. So the believer lay down to a hopefully dreamless sleep.

* * *

The sunset was gorgeous. Shane stared at it setting on the water, watching the gentle ripples of the waves, and sighed.

Every night it was the same. Alone on the pier, just watching, unable to turn around until, suddenly, he did. And there the man stood.

Just as Shane would open his mouth, ready to ask him, _Who are you? Why are you here? Is it too early to say I’ve fallen in love?_ – the dream would end.

A sense of loss would fill him, as if he’d fallen away from the most important thing. Shane didn’t understand what the dream meant, or who the man was, but he hoped this time would be different.

It wasn’t night, but rather mid-afternoon. He’d planned a nap, wanting to see if the landscape and plot would change. There was no much hope, but Shane was willing to try anything at this point.

So far, the pier and the sunset were the same. He still couldn’t move, but the waves were bigger now. People lined the beach, faceless bodies moving restlessly on the sand. None of them were the man.

“Hello? Umm, excuse me?”

Without a conscious thought, Shane’s body turned to see him, gazing in wonder at Shane of all people.

“What’s your name?” Shane blurted, afraid the dream would end, and he’d never find out.

The man blushed, taking a quick moment to look down at his feet.

“I’m Ryan, Ryan Bergara. And you?” he replied with a bashful grin.

“The name’s Shane, Shane Madej. Lovely to meet you, Ryan.”

And with that, he grabbed Ryan’s hand and winked.

“Let’s get out of here.”

* * *

Life was boring except for the dream. Now that they’d managed to get past the first words phase, Shane was able to talk regularly to Ryan and walk around town with him. Neither knew what the town was based on, only that it seemed to exist out of time, an unreal location that reset each time they left.

Time with Ryan was treasured, as every second counted. The dream never let them disclose more than their first and last name and very basic information about each other. Besides that, it would make sound inaudible or blur their vision.

The dream was their only opportunity to meet and connect.

It was hard. To pretend to care about his job, his life, his family, his friends. Sara, his roommate, began to worry at all the sleeping Shane was doing. When he was actually awake, she’d stare from the other end of the sofa, fretting. His promises that he was fine fell on deaf ears.

Ryan claimed it was the same on his end. From what little he’d learned, Ryan made videos, and after meeting Shane, his content production had gone way down. Shane felt awful that he was just as much of a shadow hanging over Ryan’s life as Ryan was over his, but a tiny part of him was glad he meant that much to the other man.

That night, Shane promised himself he’d finally say it. Tell his new best friend the burden he’d been carrying since the instant they’d met.

As he fell into a deep slumber, the sunset began to appear. He swung around to face Ryan, smiling brightly at the sight of his face.

Taking a step closer, Shane spoke.

“Ryan, I love you.”

And the dream went dark.

* * *

Nothing mattered. No pill nor bottle nor fist could knock him out enough to send Shane back to that pier. Sleeping was easy, but dreaming was impossible. Inky darkness plagued him every time his eyes shut.

Sara was worried now for other reasons. Instead of sleeping night and day, Shane lived with his eyes open. Shutting them for too long made him think of what he was missing, so shutting them was not an option.

And the worst part was it was all his fault. Shane was the one who moved to fast, who said those deadly words, who took the happiness the both of them had and threw it all away. Suffering was a worthy punishment, but it broke Shane’s heart to think his love was facing the same.

One day, Sara came home with an envelope in her arms.

“You got it! Shane, this is amazing!” she exclaimed, shoving the paper into his hands.

He looked down at it blankly. A job acceptance for Buzzfeed. Thinking back, Shane vaguely remembered applying when he’d first moved to LA. It was a dream job, something he’d done awhile ago, never believing he’d succeed.

Now it didn’t matter. He moved to throw the paper out.

“Shane? Whoa, what are you doing? You can’t get rid of that!” Sara shrieked, taking it from him. “I know you’re in a funk, but this will keep you busy. Another way to stay awake, right? Please just give it a go.”

It was pointless to argue. So next Monday, Shane set out for his new workplace.

* * *

“Oh my god! Steven, you’ll never guess what just happened!”

A voice from the other end of the phone mumbled back at Ryan.

“Buzzfeed! I got the job, dude! Guess who you’ll be seeing next Monday? This man!” Ryan shouted triumphantly, dancing around his apartment for the first time in weeks, phone pressed against his ear.

There had been no more dreams ever since That Night. Ghosthunting by himself suddenly seemed lonely, and only made him think of Shane, so he’d applied to where Steven worked, hoping being around some friends would cheer him up again.

Ryan needed a reality check, and fast, or he really would lose it. Not seeing Shane weighed on him, wondering why the one man who’d ever loved him suddenly went black.

It was a relief when Monday came around. Ryan had nowhere better to be, so he arrived early. Maybe Steven could show him around the office, get rid of some of the nerves. As he reached for the door handle, he caught a glimpse of a man standing by a wall that faced the sea, right by the front door. He pulled back for a second, feeling a sense of déjà vu.

And in that moment, the man turned around, sun framing his face, hair blowing in the wind.

“Shane?”

“Ryan?”

**Author's Note:**

> I'd like to thank my friends for believing in me and convincing me to do this exchange. You all are amazing.
> 
> UniversalSatan, I hope you liked it and I did your prompt justice!
> 
> Thank you to everyone for reading ~ Kudos and comments are always welcome, I'd love to know what you think <3


End file.
